Granada Theatre

I was an usher at the Granada in 1968. the first movie I remember seeing there was “The Graduate”. I was there for about a year and rose to the rank of Head Usher. I remember the huge lobby and how it used to fill up before a show. We used to hold inspections an Saturday nights to makee sure all the ushers were looking there best. I’ve explored the theater from top to bottom. from the roof, to the “catacombs” as we used to call them under the seats in the auditorium, to the huge spiral staircase on the top level of the backstage area. The managers I worked under were Mr. Grossman who eventually went to the United Artists Theater Downtown and then Mr. Dave Klingman who wound up going to the Nortown. We did a lot of crazy things there including spending an overnight there, (we wern’t supposed to but we did anyway). I was also there as they were tearing it down and I also have a brick from the building. I think about those days constantly and remember them as some of the best times I had.
Joe Fricano

The architect at Levy and Klein who designed the Granada was Edward E. Eichenbaum.

The original architectural drawings of the Granada are in the possession of the Art Institute of Chicago, and can be viewed there by qualified scholars. (I believe they can be seen only by appointment.)

Thanks, that is a relief that no bomb ever went off at OUR Granada. Even if it would have been long before most of us were around.

I, too, remember the Granada fondly. I believe this is where we first saw South Pacific and Auntie Mame. We would come to the occasional movie in the ‘50s and '60s. I guess we couldn’t wait for the movie to come to the Varsity and Valencia (they’re all gone now).

After we moved to Rogers Park in ‘70 it (and the old 400) were the closest theaters. The Granada was always preferable to the little 400.

It was a beautiful theater inside and out.

What I want to know is why it was bombed in 1928? Wasn’t that one of your photos, Brian? Was that part of the war between either the owners or projectionists or the mob or all of the above?

I have thoroughly enjoyed everyone’s comments. It brings back good memories of a wonderful theater.

And I don’t know the condition of the building at the end. It may have been in sad shape or not. But I also know that Loyola University wanted that entire area for development.

They have less people attending there every year.

I was part of the group that put several of Three Stooges Festivals in 1980’s at the Granada. Jonathon Brandmeier was the guest/host DJ at one of these events! These were well attended and supported by the community. They featured some of the stooges more unusual works such as the wartime propaganda parody “I’ll never Heil Again” and the unusually violent “The Stooge to Conga”.

The theatre’s owner at the time was surprised that a money-making operation could actually be taking place at the theatre. The projectionist was an old-timer who had worked the Granada during its heyday and called all of Chicago’s old movie palace’s dinosuars.

All of the projection room equipment at the Granda including the Carbon Arc projectors was intact and in working condition during this period. The theatre itself was in good shape, but one problem we had during the show was that electrical wiring in the alley that supplied the theatre was only adaquate for maintenance needs, not a full blown show at night with all the lights on. No one (not even the owner) told the promoters about this. During one of the first “Stooge Nights”, the wires in the alley started smoking and the Chicago Fire Department and Commonwealth Edison were called for what looked to be an emergency situation.

The promoters feared a riot if the stooges show were cancelled but fortunately, the enterprising Commonwealth Edison Lineman pierced the smoking wire splices with a live bypass jumper. The show went on and the audience never experienced a problem.

A previous poster mentioned no heat in the theatre and this is true. I believe one of these festivals took place during a cold February weekend and the steam heating system of the theatre simply was too antiquated to work. The audience didn’t seem to mind, however.

The Granda Theatre was beautiful and mostly intact during the 1980’s and could possibly have been renovated. However, the owners of the property had other ideas for the property and the neighborhood was just a hangout for the Loyola students and (to some) perhaps did not seem suited to having a landmark status building. What a shame that what once was… is no more.

T Demos

The first comment here describes the GRANADA’s land owner as a “land banker” which implies that he was somehow keeping something valuable in store for the benefit of the city. Nothing could be further from the truth! Cities can create ‘land banks’ due to expected expansion, but individuals are simply SPECULATORS, people who buy any land hoping its vlaue will rise so as to be able to sell it later at a large profit. They characteristically put nothing at zll into the land, so that they can rape it for the maximum profit. In a country where 99% of the people really worship money, this is considered normal. Remember that Wolf creature who did this with the UPTOWN and was profiled in “Chicago” magazine? Sad, sad!

I grew up in Rogers Park and rented a beautiful victorian apartment just a few blocks from the theater when I was in my early 20s (during the early ‘80s). The very first movie I ever saw in a movie theater was the Beatles’ “A Hard Days Night”. The atmosphere was electifying as thousands of young girls screamed throughout the entire movie. It was an overwhelming introduction to one of Chicago’s great architectural treasures.

I recall seeing many films there over the years and eventually attended a number concerts there in the early-mid ‘80s. Does anyone remember when Todd Rundgren performed at the Granada? I believe that it was during the early 80s.

The Granada should have been declard a landmark building and preserved for generations to come.

I spent many happy hours at the Granada during the ‘40s and '50s. It was one of those things that one thought would always be there — it seemed so secure! By the way, the marquee of the Granada was changed (“updated”, if you like) during the early '50s. It would warm my heart to be able to see some vintage photos (like the opening of the theater in 1926, etc.) of the theater taken at various points during its halcyon days. Any help there would be greatly appreciated!! I haven’t lived in Chicago for a great many years, but the Granada will always be the epitome of THE movie palace, at least in my heart.

Dougde

What a spendid opportunity to be able to comment on the Granada! I
looked hard a few years ago to find any pictures of it and the only
one I could find, until now, was from a book I found in the library.
It was taken probably in the 40’s or early 50’s. I have a copy of it sitting on my desk.
Unfortunately, I had to move from Chicago a number of years ago. It
saddens me deeply that the Granada won’t be there to visit when I plan to move back! The grandest memory I have is the night I saw
“Quadrophenia” there. Posters were being given away and after the
movie I asked about them. The supply had been quickly snatched up
before the film. However, thanks to the exceptional kindness of one
usher, I did get a poster and a short tour upstairs to the supply for
the next night. We walked behind that huge arched window and I remember feeling such a thrill to see different parts of such a truly magnificent and regal piece of history! I wish I could again
thank that special usher for a memory I will never forget!
I also talked to a member of the Theatre Historical Society a few
years ago who mentioned that there was going to be an auction of articles from the Granada. Did it ever happen and are there items
anywhere that are available?
A sincere THANK YOU to Bryan Krefft for posting the last images
of a place that touched the lives and hearts of so many of us!

I just found out that the link above doesn’t work. My apologies; try this one. Try this link:

http://memory.loc.gov/

At the right side of the page that then appears, select the link for photographs. At the next screen, type “granada” in the search box. Click on the word “Search” to the right.

A series of links will then appear. Near the bottom is the one for our beloved, late great Granada Theatre.

Click on the icons for black-and-white photographs, photo captions, and data pages to see the respective materials. Brace yourself for awe—and tears at what we’ve all lost.

Scott Enk

I grew up three blocks from the Granada, and I saw many classic movies there. I saw the movie Easy Rider there, which changed my life – good or bad? – both! One flew over the Cuuckoo’s Nest premiered there, and I saw Taj Mahal and a couple of other bands there. I wax poetically about the Granada in this prose poem I wrote about growing up in Rogers Park…
http://www.sduros.com/Beaches.html

My understanding is that the Granada met its end because it was allowed to deteriorate by a known slumloard, and Rep. Dan Rostenkowski worked the ropes to get funding from Congress so that a seniors building could be constructed there. Lo, after the old Granada was torn donw, the senior housing failed and the building went to Loyola University, of which Rosty is an alum.

Seeking information about a painting of the Granada Theater that I saw in the late 1980’s – do not know artist – please contact me if you have any information – I would like to obtain this painting.

Nate Ruttenberg was the last operating manager of the Granda. He was the brother-in-law of Harry Balaban.